This short book was written after the tragic fire in April 2019 that almost destroyed this Medieval cathedral that is the very heart, the very quintessence of Paris. Despite having no real French or Catholic connections, I felt personally affected by this event. After recounting the shocking events of that night, the book then goes to recount the cathedral's central role in French political, religious and cultural life, from the beautiful, functional and intricately designed plans of the unknown architects in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, through its partial transformation to a Temple of Reason during the French Revolution, its restoration during the mid 19th century following the publicity engendered by Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame, and its symbolic role in its bells ringing in the liberation from Nazi occupation and De Gaulle's triumphant re-entry into his capital.

Notre Dame is a centre of French existence in a way that no equivalent British building really is, despite the many wonderful, historic buildings we have. Despite the separation between state and Church in 1905, which "was a defining moment for the young republic, an act of emancipation from a power which had ruled over and stifled French society for centuries" the author considers that the fire "revealed that a staunchly secular country had its roots firmly grounded in history, a history that was Christian.....Atheists and believers can find here the same memories, for they are France’s memories. Notre-Dame belongs to every French citizen and every one of them will want to have a say in her future". ( )

I was fortunate enough to have my copy of this book signed by Agnès Poirier herself at an event at l’Institut Français in London, just a few days before the lockdown took real effect. Her inscription reads, ‘Petit libre, grand sujet’. Well, it unquestionably addresses a ‘grand sujet’ but while it may only run to just over two hundred pages, it is also very far from being ‘un petit libre’.

Essentially a history of Nôtre Dame de Paris, the glorious cathedral at the heart of the city, so dramatically ravaged by fire in April 2019, this ‘petit libre’ also offers concise histories of the French Revolution, the rise, coronation and ultimate decline of Napoleon, the various constitutional upheavals of the nineteenth century, the rescue of Nôtre Dame by Victor Hugo, the reconstruction of Paris and birth of the City of Light under the direction of Georges-Eugène Haussmann, and the Liberation after the German Occupation in the Second World War. Nôtre Dame was there throughout, a constant and magisterial presence throughout the turning tides of Parisian history.

On the night of the fire, my French niece, Isobel, had come round for dinner, a meal that was interrupted by a tearful phone call from her sister, Hélène, who was back home in Montmartre. Hélène had called to say that Nôtre Dame was in flames. We watched the coverage on France24, transfixed and appalled as the flames ravaged the building. Even hundreds of miles away in suburban London the impact was dreadful, although obviously nothing compared to that felt by the thousands of onlookers who gathered to watch the devastation.

The first chapter of this book captures the sense of grief, and the rapidly unfolding story, almost like a thriller. Several of the principal characters, responsible either for the cathedral itself, the emergency services or local and national government sped to the scene, sharing their despair and incredulity.

But this is also a story of hope. While the damage was considerable, with the final cost of repair and reconstruction likely to run to several billion Euros, there were some remarkable escapes. Somehow the glorious stained glass window had survived, although how the lead mouldings failed to melt remains a mystery. The Crown of Thorns, one of the great relics of the Catholic Church also survived. For centuries, sceptics have questioned the authenticity of the Crown, but even for a hard-bitten cynic such as myself, that rather misses the point. It is the concept that the Crown represents that matters, and even if it isn’t the actual Crown of Thorns placed on Christ’s head while he suffered on the Cross, it is now itself a respected artefact tied up with the centuries long history of Nôtre Dame.

There is a postscript. Yesterday was Good Friday, and a small mass was held in the still-devastated body of the cathedral, although, both because of the damage rendered nearly a year previously, and also as a consequence of the ravages of COVID-19, there were just seven people there. The service was broadcast around the world, and despite my own general tepidity of faith (and because of my upbringing, I could not be further from being a Roman Catholic), was one of the most inspiring occasions I have ever experienced. Time itself seemed to stop for a little while during the solo rendition of Ave Maria at the close of the proceedings, and it was abundantly clear that Nôtre Dame may have been bloodied but remains defiantly unbowed.

Ms Poirier captures all this and more in her book, which, despite the sombre nature of much of her story, is never gloomy. Nôtre Dame is clearly important to her, and her affection for the site shines through. I don’t like disagreeing with her, especially as she was so charming when we briefly met at l’Institut Français, but I would say that this is quite definitely a ‘grand’ libre, in every French or English sense of that word. ( )